The Friedman Brain Institute

Leadership

Dr. Eric J. Nestler is the Director of The Friedman Brain Institute, the Nash Family Professor and Chair of the Department of Neuroscience, Professor of Psychiatry, as well as, Interim Director of the MD-PhD Program. A renowned neuroscientist, molecular biologist and psychiatrist, Dr. Nestler’s work focuses on the molecular mechanisms of drug addiction and depression.

Dr. Schahram Akbarian is a Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Dr. Akbarian’s research interests include epigenetic determinants of normal and diseased human brain development with implications for the neurobiology of major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, autism and depression.

Dr. Mark Baxter is a Professor of Neuroscience, Anesthesiology, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Baxter founded the Glickenhaus Laboratory of Neuropsychology through a generous gift from Seth and Sarah Glickenhaus.

Dr. Joseph Buxbaum, the director of the Seaver Autism Center, is Professor and Vice-Chairman of the Psychiatry Department. He is also a Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, and Neuroscience. Dr. Buxbaum is a world-renowned molecular geneticist who leads cutting edge research into human psychiatric and neurological diseases.

Dr. Patrizia Casaccia is a professor of Neuroscience, Genetics and Genomic Sciences, and Neurology. Dr. Casaccia’s work adopts molecular and cellular techniques to find new therapies for multiple sclerosis. Her work includes translational research in regenerative and personalized medicine.

Dr. Samuel Gandy is a Professor of Alzheimer's Disease Research, Neurology, and Psychiatry. He is also the Associate Director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in New York City, and Chairman Emeritus of the National Medical and Scientific Advisory Council of the Alzheimer's Association. Dr. Gandy is an international expert in the metabolism of the substance called amyloid that clogs the brain in patients with Alzheimer's. In 1989, Gandy and his team discovered the first drugs that could lower formation of amyloid.

Dr. Goate is a renowned neuropsychiatric researcher and molecular geneticist whose pioneering work falls within two areas, broadly speaking: gene discovery and modeling disease mutations. She is renowned for identifying the first gene mutation linked to an inherited form of Alzheimer's disease, and for finding that a rare mutation in the PLD3 gene doubles the risk of developing late onset Alzheimer's disease, among other significant discoveries.

Dr. Goldstein is a Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. She is chief of the Brain Imaging Core (BIC) at ISMMS. She also directs the NARC (Neuropsychoimaging of Addiction and Related Conditions) research group that uses multimodality functional neuroimaging methods to explore the neurobiological basis of impaired cognitive and emotional functioning in human drug addiction and other disorders of self-control.

Dr. Goodman is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry. He is an expert in the development and application of deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant OCD and conducts research on neuropsychiatric disorders such as mood depression, autism, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and bipolar disorder.

Dr. Hof is the Vice-Chair for the Department of Neuroscience. He is also a Professor in Neuroscience, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, and Ophthalmology. Dr. Hof leads the Kastor Neurobiology of Aging Laboratories. His laboratory has extensive expertise in the pathology of neuropsychiatric disorders and has established an international reputation in quantitative approaches to neuroanatomy and studies of brain evolution.

Dr. Yasmin Hurd is a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics and the Ward-Coleman Chair in Translational Research. She is also the Director of the Center for Addictive Disorders at the Mount Sinai Behavioral Health System. Her multidisciplinary molecular, pharmacological and behavioral research integrates translational preclinical and clinical laboratory studies.

Dr. Kenny is Ward-Coleman Professor and the Chair of the Dorothy H. and Lewis Rosenstiel Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics. Dr. Kenny also serves as the Director of the Experimental Therapeutics Institute. His multidisciplinary research involves the study of behavioral paradigms, physiological analyses, and the molecular underpinnings of neurobehavioral disorders.

Dr. Sealfon is the Glickenhaus Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurology, Director of the Center for Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics, Director of the Center for Translational Systems Biology, Professor of Neurobiology, and Professor of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at Mount Sinai Hospital and School of Medicine.

Dr. Shapiro is a Professor in Neuroscience, and Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. His research focuses on the neural mechanisms of memory in the everyday sense of the word: the ability to learn new facts and remember recent events. In particular, how processing by neural circuits alters those circuits so that information is encoded, stored, and then later retrieved in appropriate circumstances.

Dr. Sklar is a Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Genetics and Genomic Sciences. She is a neuroscientist, human geneticist and clinical psychiatrist investigating the genetic causes of psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.